Harry Allen's

Pig Bank

Harry Allen obtained a suckling pig that had died of natural causes, and instead of roasting it, he cast it in resin and created this piggy bank. He’s such an animal fan that he donates $10 of every pig bank sale to the Humane Society. The bank is part of the New York artist’s Reality Series, an ongoing collection of “sampled” forms reimagined with function. The level of detail is amazing: We particularly love the critter's smooth nose and tiny tail. A shiny silver pig sits on our dining table and holds our loose change. With a slot on his back and a cork in his belly, he becomes a shiny amalgam of the decorative and the useful.